SB 11.13.4 — FolioCorpus

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.13.4

आगमोऽप: प्रजा देश: काल: कर्म च जन्म च । ध्यानं मन्त्रोऽथ संस्कारो दशैते गुणहेतव: ॥ ४ ॥

āgamo ’paḥ prajā deśaḥ

[aagamo ’pah prajaa deshah]

kālaḥ karma ca janma ca

[kaalah karma cha janma cha]

dhyānaṁ mantro ’tha saṁskāro

[dhyaanam mantro ’tha samskaaro]

daśaite guṇa-hetavaḥ

[dashaite guna-hetavah]

Word-for-word

āgamaḥ — religious scriptures apaḥ — water prajāḥ — association with people in general or one’s children deśaḥ — place kālaḥ — time karma — activities ca — also janma — birth ca — also dhyānam — meditation mantraḥ — chanting of mantras atha — and saṁskāraḥ — rituals for purification daśa — ten ete — these guṇa — of the modes of nature hetavaḥ — causes.

Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)

āgamo ’paḥ prajā deśaḥ

āgamaḥ

religious scriptures

apaḥ

water

prajāḥ

association with people in general or one’s children

deśaḥ

place

kālaḥ karma ca janma ca

kālaḥ

time

karma

activities

also

janma

birth

also

dhyānaṁ mantro ’tha saṁskāro

dhyānam

meditation

mantraḥ

chanting of mantras

atha

and

saṁskāraḥ

rituals for purification

daśaite guṇa-hetavaḥ

daśa

ten

ete

these

guṇa

of the modes of nature

hetavaḥ

causes.

According to the quality of religious scriptures, water, one’s association with one’s children or with people in general, the particular place, the time, activities, birth, meditation, chanting of mantras, and purificatory rituals, the modes of nature become differently prominent.

Purport

The ten items mentioned above possess superior and inferior qualities and are thus identified as being in goodness, passion or ignorance. One can increase the mode of goodness by selecting religious scriptures in goodness, pure water, friendship with other persons in goodness, and so on. One should scrupulously avoid any of these ten items that may be polluted by an inferior mode of nature.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda

Gauḍīya Ācāryas

Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya

Translation

The guṇas produce three varieties of scriptures, water, population, place, time, action, birth, meditation, mantra and saṁskāras. By use of sattvika items, sattva becomes prominent. Two verses now explain sattvika items. Āgamaḥ means scriptures. Apaḥ means āpaḥ, water. Prajāḥ means people. These ten items are produced by the three guṇas (guṇa-hetavaḥ). Thus scriptures and other items come in three varieties: sattva, rajas and tamas.

Personal Guidance

Scripture, water, association, place, time, activity, birth, meditation, mantra, ritual — all carry varying mode-quality, and they change us accordingly. The modes attach via these channels.

Reflection Questions

Which channel in my life is most consistently in goodness, and which in ignorance?
What single channel adjustment would shift my overall mode?

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io